FAA Administrator forewarns failed pledges of ill judgment.

Press Release Summary:



The majority of U.S. air carriers responded to the FAA's Call to Action with written commitments to implement several best practices and adhere to the highest professional standards. Randy Babbitt promised to make public those airlines that did not produce a written pledge to implement the most critical safety improvements, and the FAA is publishing that list. Babbitt said he is also releasing results of a similar Call to Action issued to pilot union organizations.



Original Press Release:



Statement by FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt



WASHINGTON - The majority of U.S. air carriers have responded to our Call to Action with written commitments to implement several "best practices" and to adhere to the highest professional standards. We take these commitments very seriously, and believe they are a big step toward making future commercial air travel even safer than it is today.

I promised I would make public those airlines that did not give us a written pledge to implement the most critical safety improvements. We are publishing that list today. I want to note that several of the carriers who did not actually respond in writing are already using the key safety programs we asked for - Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) and Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). And some carriers may simply be too small or have too limited operations for FOQA programs to be practical. The fact that carriers haven't responded or are too small to have certain programs in place will be taken into consideration when performing FAA surveillance activities. Our goal is to ensure that all carriers are operating at the highest levels of safety.

I am also releasing the results of a similar Call to Action issued to pilot union organizations.

The operators and labor organizations who have not responded need to understand the American public will ultimately judge their reluctance to adopt proven safety practices, not just the Federal Aviation Administration.

History shows that we are able to implement better safety improvements far more quickly and effectively when we work together. Nearly all large airlines and many small airlines - covering 93 percent of current commercial fleet - have committed to this approach. Those few that have not need to act - now.

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